How to get more fibre into your diet

Most of us need to eat more fibre and have fewer added sugars in our diet. Eating plenty of fibre is associated with a lower risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and bowel cancer.

Government guidelines published in July 2015 say our dietary fibre intake should increase to 30g a day, as part of a healthy balanced diet. As most adults are only eating an average of about 18g day, we need to find ways of increasing our intake. Choosing foods with fibre also makes us feel fuller, while a diet rich in fibre can help digestion and prevent constipation. It’s important to get fibre from a variety of sources, as eating too much of one type of food may not provide you with a healthy balanced diet. To increase your fibre intake you could: Choose a higher-fibre breakfast cereal such as plain wholewheat biscuits (like Weetabix) or plain shredded whole grain (like Shredded wheat), or porridge as oats are also a good source of fibre. Go for wholemeal or granary breads, or higher fibre white bread, and choose wholegrains like wholewheat pasta, bulgur wheat or brown rice. Go for potatoes with their skins on, such as a baked potato or boiled new potatoes. Add pulses like beans, lentils or chickpeas to stews, curries and salads. Include plenty of vegetables with meals, either as a side dish or added to sauces, stews or curries. Have some fresh or dried fruit, or fruit canned in natural juice for dessert. Because dried fruit is sticky, it can increase the risk of tooth decay, so it’s better if it is only eaten as part of a meal, rather than as a between-meal snack. For snacks, try fresh fruit, vegetable sticks, rye crackers, oatcakes and unsalted nuts or seeds.